Birmingham Airport control tower wins RICS Project of the Year award

THE West Midlands’ most impressive property schemes battled it out for top honours at the 2013 RICS West Midlands Awards last night, with the Air Traffic Control Facility at Birmingham Airport crowned Project of the Year.

The annual contest  – held at The National Motorcycle Museum – celebrates inspirational initiatives in the land, property and construction sectors. The event attracted more than 170 property professionals.

The winners of the seven individual categories were

• Building Conservation – Astley Castle, Warwickshire
• Community Benefit  – The Hive, Worcester
• Design & Innovation  – The Hive, Worcester
• Infrastructure  – Droitwich Canals Restoration, Droitwich
• Regeneration – Air Traffic Control Facility, Birmingham Airport
• Residential property – Bluebell Views Student Residences, Coventry
• Tourism & Leisure  – St. Georges Park, Burton

The Project of the Year title is presented to the scheme which demonstrates overall outstanding best practice. The Air Traffic Control Facility at Birmingham Airport triumphed over what the panel of eight judges described as extremely tough competition.

The seven storey structure stands at 34 metres and has been an ambitious project in construction terms. Having been constructed without a supporting steel frame, it is one of the tallest un-stayed control towers in the UK. 

The tower’s strength and stability comes instead from a slip form concrete process, which involved the project team pouring concrete continuously for ten days while the cab was prefabricated off-site and installed.

Roger Stone, chair of the RICS West Midlands Awards judging panel, said: “Birmingham Airport’s Air Traffic Control tower ticked all the boxes for the RICS judges. This iconic building is part of a scheme that will bring business people to Birmingham and the West Midlands from parts of the world that we currently do not serve.

“The state-of-the-art control tower is at the centre of on-going works that will provide a huge economic boost for the region.”